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On December 7, 1941, a tranquil Sunday morning transformed into a historic tragedy when hundreds of Japanese aircraft unexpectedly attacked Pearl Harbor—a cataclysmic event that would lead to the United States entering World War II. Fifteen miles away, Major Leonard D. Heaton, a physician and surgeon at Schofield Barracks’ North Sector General Hospital, was suddenly thrust into a relentless medical battle. Overwhelmed with casualties, Heaton spearheaded a heroic effort to treat the injured, working tirelessly under immense pressure. His exceptional leadership and dedication during this crisis earned him the Legion of Merit. This pivotal experience was a defining moment in Heaton’s career, setting the stage for his eventual rise to become the Surgeon General of the United States Army.
The Diary Entry
Sunday – Dec. 7, 1941
The best and happiest days of our lives went up in the smoke of Pearl Harbor, Wheeler Field, and Hickam Field today. I wonder if, when and how they will ever return.
I was standing with Capt’s Bell and (Harlan) Taylor in front of my quarters about 8 o’clock this day. We were about to get in the car to pick up Col. Canning and thence to Queen’s Hospital to attend a lecture by Dr. Jno. Moorhead of N.Y. who has been talking of traumatic surgery. We hesitated before entering the car because our attention was called to the great number of planes in the air and some very loud distant noises. Soon one plane came quite close to us and in banking to come down our street I distinctly saw the rising sun insignia on his wings. Soon he was coming down the street with machine guns blazing away at us. We rushed into the house.
As long as I live I shall never forget my feelings and emotions when I saw and realized that these were Jap planes and that we were in for the real thing. Something we never thought could ever happen to us here due to primarily our great naval force and implicit faith in such.
Back in the house Sara Hill [his wife] inquired of the situation and I told her. Sara Dudley [their daughter] was sick with the nasal bronchitis and in bed. The four of us went back out on the sidewalk. Then we distinctly saw dive bombers and bombs over Wheeler Field and much black smoke in the direction of Pearl Harbor. There were many planes by now all over and around us. I remarked as must have many others before us in situations like this, ‘Where are our planes?’ Whereupon another Jap plane came down our street spraying everything and everybody with machine guns. We rushed back into the house again and at this time I got an urgent call to come immediately to the hospital. I hurried off after comforting Sara Hill and Sara Dudley as best I could. The first wounded had arrived from Wheeler Field and we immediately set our operating teams in action.
Further Reading
Leonard D. Heaton’s diaries are kept at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center. In 2011, the above entry was reprinted in Bill McWilliams’ book, Sunday in Hell: Pearl Harbor Minute by Minute.
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